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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cascading”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “cascading”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #1 2 Photo Gallery – GT3 Image Gallery & Gutenberg Block Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (147) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 YITH WooCommerce Quick View 80K+ · 3.8★ (27) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #9 10 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↑4 11 Quick View For Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Guten Free Options 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 QODE Quick View for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery 3K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Social Chat Buttons 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 Cascading Mega Menu for Elementor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 OptionWeave Cascading Dropdowns for Forminator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Quote Blocks 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 GW Elementor Addons 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 Chained Selects for Elementor Forms 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 ECOMMPAY Payments 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too high 23 Advanced Taxonomy Manager 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 Auto Populate Country/State/City/Ward DropDown Addon for Gravity Forms 20+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓4

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.